MenoAZinkulling: Q

This month here at the Wild YAMster's bloggy, you are going to be regaled with words related to feelings and happenings of the last twelve months. Oh yes, you know of what I talk.  This is to be the ALPHABET OF AAARRGFIZZZ... We've all had to deal with it. This will be a reflection purely from my point of view. You don't necessarily have to agree with what I say; just appreciate where it's coming from. Normal service will resume on May Day. (By which time I may be yelling that down the ether phone loud and repetitively!)

☀♉☀

...How does one apply the letter Q to the matter of Coviditionitis? Can it even have a place in this series? Well, the answer was in those first sentences... 

Questions…

Oh, the questions have been pretty much never-ending as to the what, why, where and when of the origins of this 'novel virus' and how it managed to become what it has. The less than entertaining lurgy that has flustered Mankind. Even as answers began to be found, twists and turns have thrown up more questions. 

Of course, that could just be the state of life. All knowledge gained is derived from first having a question, heh na? Then, having formulated the query, we can research and surmise to put forward a theoretical answer. But much is also gained from direct experience and observation of outcomes in relation to the subject of our inquiry. It will only be with the passing of time and looking back on this period as 'history' that we will be able to see its full impact and build our understanding of the disease, its health effects and the societal impact.

How about Quolls... have you ever wondered about them? If not, why not?  That'll do for q.

See you tomorrow for the ongoing saga. Please be aware that there is more I amAZing over at 

My Take, Aatmaavrajanam and Instagram.

MenoAZinkulling: P

This month here at the Wild YAMster's bloggy, you are going to be regaled with words related to feelings and happenings of the last twelve months. Oh yes, you know of what I talk.  This is to be the ALPHABET OF AAARRGFIZZZ... We've all had to deal with it. This will be a reflection purely from my point of view. You don't necessarily have to agree with what I say; just appreciate where it's coming from. Normal service will resume on May Day. (By which time I may be yelling that down the ether phone loud and repetitively!)

☀♉☀

Pandemic!

Phew, got that one out of the way. Moving on...

There was an element of Panic, in the beginning, was there not? Panic-buying, panic-travelling. What? Yes, all the folk in the cities tried to move out to the country. Like that would Prevent infection. All they did was carry it with them. Prevention became the key factor in the guidelines that governments laid out for their citizens. Not always that clear. Indeed, for many, the Westministerial offerings were about as clear as cracked glass. Lots of loopholes. Lots of contradictions. Mainly, one suspects because there was no Planning - apparently a total lack. One must be fair and acknowledge that nobody living now has ever been through anything like this before. Including the chaps in charge in the Big Hoose. Except for the fact that it was expected to happen at some point. After all, nature's early warning system had been working; 

SOURCE

Was it a case of 'cry wolf' in that before 2020, outbreaks had been contained or proven not to be the threat expected of them? Did it mean that complacency set in? Whatever -  this one has flown in and ensured that we pay attention.

In cold, hard, statistical terms, the death numbers directly attributable to COVID are still only at 0.05% of the world population at the time of writing. Yes, the number may grow a little yet, but this is the context. The trouble is, some of the worst-hit countries (that is to say, those with the largest death tolls) are those countries where it is thought to be unlikely—western, 'healthy' places like these wee islands off the north coast of Europe. At the end of March, we tipped over the 150k total for 'excess deaths'. There is no way to be flippant about such numbers. Of those, 130+k are in England, 7.5k in Scotland, 5.5k in Wales and 2.2k in N.I. 

Sorry to lay that out, but it would be nonsense to have a theme about Coviditionitis, and a post with the subheading it does, without covering that territory. Or mentioning another big pee-word that we have all had to think about ... Personal Protective Equipment. It was all very haphazard, wasn't it? Even sorting out the most effective mask strength proved an elusive task - in the end, any face covering will be better than none, combined with good surface and hand hygiene and avoiding contact with anyone else.

All this kinda-sorta passed the father and me by. We would anyway have been a bit restricted due to the deterioration in his Parkinson's. Oh yes, that was the other big-pee that dominated my 2020. And his, of course. I do think, though, that the deterioration was sped up by the fact that we could not have the weekly coffee morning with our dear Neighbour M, or dad his fortnightly meet and greet with his excellent pal Ron or even his monthly outing for lunch with old buddy Tom. He had me, the telly, Mac1, the telly, brief turns with Macs 2 and 3, the telly.... and sleep, sleep, sleep. As each month, each week, went by, he seemed to shrink just that bit more, physically and mentally.  Despite taking all steps that we could to attend to his comfort, it became increasingly clear this was his final year.

We cannot leave the letter pee without mentioning (as has been done in most of these posts!) the matter of Politics. Globally, the political scene has been showing a significant trend to 'the right'. Ultra-conservatism based on neo-liberal principles. That is the ebb and flow of things, too, is it not? The "greed is good" mentality alive and well for a spell, then an upturning of that for more civil and social-mindedness and egalitarianism. You may have surmised that I lean more to the latter. 

Sadly, most politics these days appears to be based upon social-media-style celebrity 'cultism' - personality-driven rather than policy-driven. Then, when it is found that cronyism is alive and well in the Parliament and the Primo Mouthster peddles the capitalist anthem, one despairs.

See tomorrow for the ongoing saga. Please be aware that there is more I amAZing over at 

My Take, Aatmaavrajanam and Instagram.

MenoAZinkulling: O

This month here at the Wild YAMster's bloggy, you are going to be regaled with words related to feelings and happenings of the last twelve months. Oh yes, you know of what I talk.  This is to be the ALPHABET OF AAARRGFIZZZ... We've all had to deal with it. This will be a reflection purely from my point of view. You don't necessarily have to agree with what I say; just appreciate where it's coming from. Normal service will resume on May Day. (By which time I may be yelling that down the ether phone loud and repetitively!)

☀♉☀

This period of incarceration has resulted in a surge of people being "Online". That's the word, isn't it? We don't say, "oh, I am working the computer to order food/research COVID/talk with XYZ in Somwherelse", do we? No. We just say we are online. Even in the preceding technology, we had to say the longer phrase of "I am on the phone". Online is a single, elegant indication of what we are up to.  And we have been up to it a great deal! Personally, I would now say that without being online, chatting with folk all over the place, I might not have survived the last year.

Ordinary. This, I strongly suspect, is the word that most folk are searching for when they say they just want to get back to 'normal'. Life has been turned topsy turvy in this state of living I have termed Coviditionitis. There are a few of us who have embraced it, being already quite settled in our own company. For many, though, they really could live without the excitement. They just want the ordinary in life. 

Ownership. When dealing with major societal shifts, it comes down to every individual to take ownership of their actions in that process. We have seen many who deny COVID or, even if they accept it, don't want to comply with the guidelines, which will suppress the spread of the virus. This is selfish when viewed in the total picture, but it has to be admitted that they take ownership of their personal belief. The point is, no matter how much any government undertakes to help its society along, such measure can only benefit the community as a group if all individuals own their part in making it happen.

That said, many people in society are not all that clear where they stand on things, so look to their leaders for the example to be set. 

The Oaf known as Alickxi Boorish de Pfuffle Jitterson has a litany of faffs showing his failure to provide a proper example. The long-suffering medical and scientific off-siders started to look very careworn pretty early on as they tried to get him to understand that what he was asking of the country also applied to him.

Meanwhile, oor wee Nicola was inspiring the populace of the Bonny Land with her calm and steady and regular appearances, with appropriately solemn condolences, and updates on numbers and clear guidance. She has led well with adherence to the guidance. (There was one slip at a funeral, and her apology was quick, sincere and accepted - by her acknowledgement that it demonstrated the challenge we all face in compliance.) All this while dealing with other matters of governance that she could have done well without...

So what is the Outlook from here? Things will start to pick up, but there will be increased awareness during close interaction - or there will be forgetfulness and a resurgence of the disease. Boffins here are already indicating that there will be a need to maintain the FACTS regime, even with the mass inoculation having taken place. It will not be until the global population has been injected to the appropriate level (probably around 80 to 85%, I would suggest... more on that soon) that we can consider an appropriate level of immunity. There may well be a good state of affairs within any given country - but as long as there is Overseas interaction, there is increased risk, for many countries will be far behind in the program. Stay home, stay local is still likely to be the call for those seeking to travel.  One thing is certain - we must continue striving Onward, for there's nowhere else to go.

See you Monday for the ongoing saga. Please be aware that there is more I amAZing over at 

My Take, Aatmaavrajanam and Instagram.